Suspension of Disbelief

There is thrill in taking chances, whether it be in gambling with one's fortune, or at least with one's dream. This is the reason why a majority of people line up for the jackpot lottery. This is the reason we enjoy joining contests where one could win big prizes.

This same collective pursuit has become my primary aversion. I cannot recall the last time I drew numbers for my lottery ticket, or even tore stubs to join a charity raffle draw. There were hopeful moments I would, like when Del Monte Fit N' Right announced they would give-away Ipads, or when a family member shoves a ticket urging me to write my personal details.  But most of the time, I see contests as a ruse.

The optimist in me used to believe that the chances of winning a raffle draw, or a contest is big. I poured my heart into every competition hoping my coupon/piece of work/entry would be picked. Sadly, I never won a prize before - ever. There were vague memories of placing my bets in a peryahan, but that was two decades ago. Misfortune seem to have attached itself that never was my name called for Christmas give-aways. A decade into my career life and I still have to claim my prize.

I would have stood my ground and continue to disassociate myself with prizes and raffles. But the reality that some material aspirations could only be acquired through fortuitous means has grown in me that I began to take chances by way of stoking one's luck.

Though the jackpot seems so far-away, lately I'm learning. What's there to lose when its the contests barging at your door.

These past several days, Nuffnang ran an ad on Souljacker. Nescafe Decaf invites everyone to design their own avatar in its Night Studio contest. Winning entries could win an Ipad, an Iphone 4 or even a Macbook Air. The prizes were too tempting to ignore. Given that Baabaa has somehow swayed me to the geek side, a part of me desires to own one of these prizes.

So I designed my Night Studio only to learn that the entries get voted. It seems I've joined a popularity contest and I have no match against those whose facebook friends number around a thousand. It did damp my spirit for some time until I remembered my own mantra about joining contests.

"What's there to lose when its the contests barging at your door?"

And so I suspended my own disbelief and turned my entry into a twisted reflection of what these contests are all about. The entries out there will surely refract the contestants' ordinary dreary life, but I wonder, really, how often does a judge gets to see an abnormally overgrown cat becoming the subject of one's entry. 

My overgrown cat, Bentong needs Nescafe too!

I stand to lose this contest only because I chose not to promote my entry. But I am pleased to learn that my creativity, when triggered, knows no bounds or masters.

Perhaps in another way, I will get that Macbook Air I wanted.